WrestleMania XXX: A Preview Of The Big WWE Event

ARLINGTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 08: Former wrester, Hulk Hogan at AT&T Stadium before a Sunday night game between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys on September 8, 2013 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Hulk Hogan (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Welcome to the debut edition of the Royal Ramble on KMOX.com. The Royal Ramble gives match predictions, reviews shows and makes top 10 lists. This is truly an amazing moment for me as I write for this KMOX.com; the city of St. Louis has such a rich pro wrestling community and history. St. Louis used to host Wrestling at the Chase, dating all the way back to 1959, and wrestling greats like Harley Race, Ric Flair, “Cowboy” Bob Orton, Lou Thesz and so many others were a part of it. To me, pro wrestling is so much than just a male soap opera. Having trained a bit in it, I know that what these athletes put their bodies through is excruciating and they do it for the love and passion for the wrestling industry. Now let’s get rambling…

On Sunday, April 6th, WWE hosts WrestleMania XXX, live from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. This is the Stanley Cup for the WWE and this particular event has all the hype to be one of the best WrestleMania’s ever created. It’s the 30th anniversary of WrestleMania, the immortal Hulk Hogan is hosting and it’s the first Pay Per View to be on the WWE Network. You can expect plenty of surprises. The hype surrounding certain matches has fans all around the world wondering what will happen at the Showcase of the Immortals.

To me the card for the show looks better than the past several WrestleMania’s. With an undercard of about three matches, there are five huge matches you should keep an eye on. Before I start talking about the five big matches, one undercard match I would watch out for is the Shield vs Kane & the New Age Outlaws. The Shield have been some of the WWE’s best performers since they debuted in late 2012 and I’m sure they’ll try to steal the show.

30 Man Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal

When Hulk Hogan was announced as the special guest host for this year’s WrestleMania, he wanted to do something very special. He came up with a 30 man battle royal for his late friend, Andre the Giant. Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant had one of the best WrestleMania moments ever at WrestleMania III when Hogan body slammed Andre. To this day, people still talk about it.

The participants for this match include: Sheamus, Dolph Ziggler, Big Show, Fandango, Alberto Del Rio, Mark Henry, Christian, Cody Rhodes and Goldust, to name a few. Battle royals are always fun to watch and are one of my favorite types of matches. If I have to pick one person to win, I would choose the Big Show.

Bray Wyatt vs John Cena

Bray Wyatt debuted last summer and has become one of the most talked about wrestlers in a long time. He portrays himself as a religious cult leader who wants to take down everything that is good in the world. Bray Wyatt also leads Luke Harper and Erick Rowan – together they are the Wyatt Family. The Wyatt’s have wreaked havoc on the WWE since they debuted, so for them to target one of the most popular wrestlers of the last 10 years (Cena), makes perfect sense. John Cena, billed as the superman of pro wrestling, always stands up for good and never backs down from a fight. Pitting the evil Bray Wyatt against a superhero like John Cena, is the perfect combination for the grandest stage of them all. I think John Cena will lose this match. His loss will establish Bray Wyatt as a major player in the WWE. The win can boost Wyatt to the title picture in the near future.

Streak vs the Beast: Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar

The Undertaker has one of the greatest accomplishments in WWE history; he is 21-0 on the big stage. Do I think he will ever lose at WrestleMania? No, but that doesn’t mean we won’t see a great match between Taker and Brock Lesnar. Lesnar is one of the meanest men on the planet. He has torn apart everything in his path and to challenge the Undertaker’s streak is the last thing left for him to accomplish. While I do think Undertaker will win, WWE will try everything they can to make you think he will lose to the beast, Brock Lesnar.

This is quite possibly the biggest match on the card. There is so much story and hype to this match. This will be a once in a lifetime moment in pro wrestling. Here’s the back story…

At WrestleMania 28, Daniel Bryan was the World Heavyweight Champion (a 2nd tier title to the WWE Championship) and he was wrestling Sheamus. He came down to the ring chanting “YES” over and over, and he was a villain at the time. Not even 18 seconds after the bell rang, the match was over and Daniel Bryan lost. This made the wrestling audience very angry.

The night after WrestleMania, the crowd in Miami chanted “YES” for the entire 2 hour show. The chants were so loud that you couldn’t even hear wrestlers like The Rock or John Cena talk. This sky rocketed Daniel Bryan to super stardom, but he was still held back by WWE management. Daniel Bryan wrestled for the WWE Championship later that year but always fell short of winning.

Fast forward to the summer of 2013 and Daniel Bryan was without a doubt the most popular wrestler the WWE had at the time. “YES” chants filled stadiums everywhere. He got so popular that WWE had no choice but to put him in the main event of the August Pay Per View, SummerSlam, against John Cena for the WWE Championship with WWE COO, Triple H, as the special referee. Daniel Bryan defeated Cena and won the WWE Championship. It seemed like he finally got his moment, but no more than five minutes later, St. Louis’ own, Randy Orton, came down with the Money in the Bank briefcase. The Money in the Bank briefcase guarantees a wrestler a title shot at any time. In a shocking turn of events, Triple H gave a pedigree to Bryan and Orton covered Bryan to capture the WWE Championship not even five minutes after Bryan had just won it. This made Triple H & Orton instant villains in the WWE.

The very next month at the Night of Champions Pay Per View, Daniel Bryan defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship. But, the next night on RAW, Triple H stripped Bryan of the title. Daniel Bryan had the title taken from him once again.

WWE then decided to take Bryan in a different direction and had him feud with the Wyatt Family. The wrestling audience was not happy and a “YES” movement began. Anytime Bryan wasn’t in a match, the audience would chant “YES” or “Daniel Bryan” in protest.

Every January, WWE hosts the Royal Rumble Pay Per View where they hold a 30 Man Royal Rumble match with the winner receiving a title match at the main event of WrestleMania. The fans obviously wanted Daniel Bryan to win but he did not. Instead, a returning Batista won the match. Batista left the WWE four years ago and returned a week before the Pay Per View. Many fans were not happy about WWE letting a guy come back after he had quit.

The fans protested more and took to social media to voice their disapproval. Fans weren’t the only ones upset. Mega WWE star, CM Punk, quit the WWE because he was not happy with the way things were being handled, stating in an interview that this was Daniel Bryan’s year.

The situation finally hit its boiling point when Daniel Bryan obviously had enough and challenged Triple H to a match at WrestleMania XXX, where the winner would go to the main event and wrestle champion Randy Orton and Batista in a triple threat match for the WWE World Heavyweight Championship. If Daniel Bryan does not get his well-deserved moment this year, it will be a slap in the face to him and fans around the world.

So much is on the line for Daniel Bryan and this will have fans everywhere on the edge of their seats. Will WrestleMania XXX go down as one of the best ever? We’ll see tonight. Of course, this will all play into the Monday Night RAW coming to Scottrade Center in St. Louis on April 28th.